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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 19th, 2021–Jan 20th, 2021

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper.

Its hammer time once again as 60 to 100km/hr southwest winds blast exposed terrain tree line and above. Stick to sheltered areas to avoid testing the new slabs.

Weather Forecast

Isolated precipitation overnight Tues with strong to extreme winds from the southwest.  Clearing and cooling trend follows.

Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud.  Precip: nil. Alpine Temps: Low -14 C, High -12 C. Wind west 25km/h gusting to 80 km/h.

Thursday: Mix of sun and cloud.  Precip: nil.  Alpine Temps: Low -15 C, High -10 C. Wind light to 15 km/h.

Snowpack Summary

30cm of unconsolidated surface snow continues to settle. Wind event in progress. Strong to X southwest winds stripping exposed terrain and continuing to promote wind effect, wind slab formation and cornice growth. The midpack is supportive. Spotty buried surface hoar can be found down 30cm and 70cm in sheltered and shaded locations below tree line.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed on Monday, but significant whoomphing was observed Sunday in low angle wind effected terrain.

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Confidence

Wind effect is extremely variable

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.